The Bird Barn

The Bird Barn just off Lincoln Road in Henderson is a landmark for bird owners in Auckland. Trudging back up Lincoln Road yesterday in the rain, I decided to make this one of my stops before I let the rain beat me (I took a bus back the rest of the way home).

 

Interesting architecture. Hazarding a guess, I'd say the bit below is original, some kind of a storage area in the beginning, with those small and now sealed up windows. I'd need to check out some early aerials, though.

 

 Anyway, the main thing that attracted me was the mural outside. I usually stay away from commercial murals -- but this one is beautiful, and doesn't have the company's name entwined in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heritage burns: the morning after

An update to Heritage burns.

This morning, I left the house early for two reasons: to be in time for a bus all the way up Lincoln Road to attend a funeral, and to get some photo record of the aftermath of last night's fire. Smoke was a stench that dominated both Great North Road and Wingate Street to the rear; and the fire was still actively smouldering.

Around in Wingate Street, although I was on the opposite footpath, a security guard asked, "You taking pictures?" I honestly replied yes, and then he asked for my name and who I represented, and wrote this on a sheet marked something to do with visitors to the "crime scene". Having got my name, that I represented the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society, and my voluntarily offered phone number, he let me carry on what I was doing.

One thing from this is that, with the ravages of the fire, I now have a photo record of how some of the structure had been put together. This cwas the best part of the day, even though it was showery -- later on, it settled in for a wild and woolly December 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lincoln vineyards

Even though I've only been around a tiny bit over four-and-a-half decades, I do remember when Lincoln Road, coming off the North-Western motorway and heading towards Henderson, used to be verdantly abundant with vineyards and orchards. Not any more. The orchards and vinyards that survive are like odd remnants from another time, amidst the spread of retail mega-outlets, a couple of large funeral establishments, and all the et ceteras.

Seeing this just off Central Park Drive today was surprising.

I took a closer look.

"Collards" is still written on the corrugated iron roof, across faded red or brown paint, and below, bravely peeking from behind graffiti, "Estate Vineyards". Collards as a firm started in Henderson on the Great North Road in 1910, according to online sources, so -- they are one of the oldies as far as West Auckland winemakers are concerned. I don't know when they moved to Lincoln Road, but they moved out in 2008.

And the remnant's future?

It will make way for a Mitre 10 hardware store.  This notification sign for the resource consent application had been ripped away from wherever it had once been posted, probably by a similar stormy windswept day like today, and just dropped in the long grass.

It looks like the last vineyard left on Lincoln Road is Mazurans.

 

 

I wonder for how long?

Heritage burns

There's an article on the NZ Herald site tonight, a pall of smoke rising in a leaden sky thick with early summer rain, and a piece of 20th century Avondale has gone up in smoke.

The warehouse-type shops on Great North Road, around no. 2059, may be classed as an eyesore these days to some folk, but they are part of our local heritage. Well, they were ... there won't be much left of them now.

The site hasn't been a lucky one, in some ways. In the 1880s, the Northern Omnibus Company set up a stable there. It burned down in the 1890s. Charlie Pooley owned the rebuilt stable, and that burned after it was convertede to a motor garage and depot for the GOS bus company on 14 November 1924. The heat from that fire was so intense, it knocked out the only power and telephone lines linking West Auckland, the Kaipara and Northland with the rest of New Zealand.

 Image: NZ Graphic 21 April 1900

 

 Image: the stable as a motor garage, early 1920s.

And now, it's happened again, to Pooley's resurrected building from the 1930s, constructed by local contractor the late Ernie Croft.

 Image: 2004

The building served as a bus depot, a taxi depot, and shops from the 1930s to today, but they have seen better times than the present. Still -- a pity they will now be doomed.

Update: the morning after.

Mural in a Helensville paddock

A business trip to Helensville Museum yesterday saw me having a munch of corned beef sandwiches while sitting on a seat on the verandah outside the main building, sheltering from the rain. In doing so, I spotted and recognised the figures on the mural placed on the side of the Hec Nicolls memorial shed. I decided to traipse across the paddock for a closer look.

Yep. I was right -- John and Helen McLeod, the founding couple of Helensville in the early 1860s. John McLeod, with his then-partner Cyrus Haskell, was one of the lessees of Henderson's sawmill in West Auckland, from 1854 to 1860.

 

 Their names aren't mentioned on the plaque beside the mural, though. The plaque reads:

"He Hononga Hou"

A New Partnership

A historical depiction of two cultures

in Te Awaroa aka Helensville

Ngati Whatua ki Kaipara &

early European settlers

Artists: Daniel Tippett & Darrel Thompson

Organised by: Te Awaroa Youth Club

The mural has taken away much of the most striking aspect of the appearance in life of Nova Scotia-originating John McLeod unfortunately -- his gangly similarity to the President of the United States at that time, Abraham Lincoln. If you want to check that out, see this link and scroll down the right sidebar.

Awaroa, by the way, was apparently the original Maori name for the district, although there must have been considerable confusion at the time with the other Awaroa in the region, down from Drury. In August 1862, it was referred to as "the new Nova Scotian settlement" (Southern Cross, 6 August 1862). Alexander Unthank had a timber operation going at Kaukapakapa as at September 1862 (SC, 6 September), and the following month McLeod advertised his own mill, "at Kaipara". (SC, 18 October 1862) The mills were called the Kaipara Mills in December 1862, and McLeod's Mill the next month. The earliest instance I've found for a reference to Helensville is a letter by John McLeod to the Southern Cross dated 10 August 1863 (printed 13 August) -- only it was published then as "Helmsville". I have my doubts therefore about the story which has been put out before now, that John McLeod called the family home "Helen's Villa", the town's name coming from that. I think, perhaps, McLeod simply put the name out there for the settlement, named after his wife. Awaroa wasn't feasible because of duplication and confusion, and following on from Thomas Henderson's example probably wasn't contemplated (at the time, "Henderson's Mill" was also known as "Dundee Saw Mill".) "McLeodsville" may have seemed pretentious.

By September 1863, though, when McLeod advertised for workers for his mill, the address given was Helensville.

Newmarket traffic control box art

My friends Bill & Barbara Ellis sent this shot through this afternoon -- looks like the box is at the north-western corner of Mortimer Pass and Broadway. I'll have to take a closer look next time I'm in the neighbourhood.

Laurel Kerosene, and "Aussie" Ice Cream

Another find today at the Sunday Market -- a recipe book put out by Vacuum Oil under its Laurel kerosene brand, before Vacuum became Mobil. I have no idea as to date, but the booklet was printed in Wellington.

What intrigued me was this entry:

I asked two of my favourite West Islanders about this, Jayne from Our Great Southern Land, and Leechbabe from Stuff with Thing, why this particular recipe is an "Aussie" one. The answer's still uncertain, as one lead raised, the cornflour, seems to be fairly common in ice cream making (thanks, Jayne and Leechie for your help!)

Further suggestions as to the reason for the Aussieness of the recipe gratefully appreciated.

Update: The ice cream has been made at Jayne's place today. The results:

"Ok, ice cream isn't fully set yet but VERY yummy.
Has that decent 'real food' taste, no synthetic after-taste, if you know what I mean?
We'll be making this ice cream instead of buying any from now on."

 Cool. Glad my habit of gathering up old stuff at markets has helped trans-Tasman relations!

Further update (2 December 2009): Resulting post on Our Great Southern Land.

Another blog: I Love Retro Things

I stumbled across the I Love Retro Things blog just now -- and it looks like it will take me ages to go through all the great stuff there. Check it out, especially if the wet weather keeps up.

1950 Empire Games

A walk down to the Avondale Sunday Market this morning, and I find this: a 1950 Crown Lynn Empire Games commemorative beer mug. Thanks to a couple of small chips at the top, I got it for 1/3 the going Trade-Me rate.

 

According to another site, 10,000 of these were made. This was Auckland's first big post-war promo, eclipsed in the early 1950s only by the Queen's visit in 1953. The closing ceremony was held at Werstern Springs stadium -- and compared with such ceremonies these days. It's no wonder it isn't all that well remembered. This from the official programme, via Matapihi:

CLOSING CEREMONY

In their brevity and simplicity, the closing ceremonies of the 1950 British Empire Games will be typically British.

At the conclusion of the last Victory Ceremony at the Western Springs Stadium, all standard-bearers, flag-bearers and team-managers will take theirb places in alphabetical order of teams just off the cycling track and then march across the arena to the centre of the ground, assembling in a half-circle around a dais.

Each flag-bearer in turn will then return his country's flag to the Chairman of the Organising Committee, who will present same to the team-manager.

The Chairman of the British Empire Games Federation will then declare the 1950 British Empire Games closed.

A salute of four guns will be fired.

"Auld Lang Syne" will be played, the whole attendance being asked to join in the singing of same, and finally "God Save the King", during which all flags will be finally lowered.

Ah, the days before telly, and multi-national corporate sponsorship ...

Shipwrecks of New Zealand

It isn't often I get an email from an author asking if I'd be interested in a new book which has come out. When Lynton Diggle emailed me this afternoon, and it was to do with his book released last month, Shipwrecks of New Zealand, a companion (and extension) to the effective Bible of NZ shipwreck history, the 8th edition of New Zealand Shipwrecks which he co-authored...

... I'll just have to start swearing off the buying of history books further on into December, I suppose. This one looks like a must-have, with 130 pages, illustrated, covering another 86 wrecks in our history previously not recorded.

A Titirangi resident, Lynton Diggle (according to last night's Western Leader) filmed underwater sites while working for salvage companies in the 1980s. His career path began at 17 with scriptwriter training and later cameraman work for New Zealand Broadcasting, followed by a 25 year stint with the National Film Unit, specialising in underwater filming. He co-authored New Zealand Shipwrecks (2007) with his wife, Edith.

The Western Leader quoted him as saying, "There's lots of romance about wrecks." Too right, Lynton.

Price: $45.50 includes GST and postage throughout NZ)
Orders: Lynton Diggle, 3 Ngaio Road, Titirangi, Auckland 0604
email: lynton.diggle@orcon.net.nz

Gypsy Fair at Craigavon Park, Blockhouse Bay

Some shots of the Gypsy Fair at Craigavon park today. Other folks' photos here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I bought a couple of second-hand NZ history books (natch), and this: